Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 We’ll be right back.
5:40 Thank you.
5:41 Matt Reed, Assistant Superintendent of Government and Community
5:45 Relations, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
5:46 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
5:52 and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
5:58 indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
6:06 At this time, I would like to offer my fellow board members and
6:08 Dr. Mullins the opportunity to recognize students, staff, or
6:12 members of the community.
6:13 Ms. McDougall, do you want to start?
6:16 Sure.
6:17 I want to give a – just a shout out to let people know this is
6:23 Mentor Month, and I want to thank everybody who participates in
6:28 Take Stock in Children for their mentoring.
6:31 And we always need mentors throughout our school, so if anyone
6:35 has a desire, please see any one of us up here at the dais.
6:38 Also, I was able to visit several of my schools, and I want to
6:43 give some shout outs to people who I passed out some of our
6:48 impact pins.
6:49 And also, I was able to – I was really excited about this one
6:53 – I gave a shout out to Ted Stedman for a bridge builder in
6:58 facilities because he does build bridges with our community
7:01 every single day.
7:01 So – and I so appreciate Sue’s department, Ms. Ann’s department,
7:05 and Ted is pretty amazing in some of the things we ask him to do
7:09 and how he does build bridges.
7:10 So, shout out to Ted.
7:11 And then I was able to go to McNair, and I want to give a shout
7:16 out to Penny Conwell.
7:17 I hope I was saying her name well.
7:19 She’s at McNair.
7:20 I gave her a big dreamer because she is the dance teacher, and
7:24 she is trying to incorporate more young men in this venue.
7:29 And so instead of calling it dance, she’s calling it just move.
7:35 It looks like a lot of fun, and a shout out to her.
7:38 Also, the ET person, Mr. Foster at McNair, who goes above and
7:44 beyond.
7:45 He is always there building bridges between staff, students, and
7:51 he will step in any time that he needs to.
7:53 So, a shout out to Rod, Mr. Forrester at – in the ET department
7:58 at McNair.
7:59 Then we have – who am I forgetting?
8:02 We have two math teachers at McNair, Ms. Kindig and Ms. Harris,
8:08 who – I can’t remember which one does the ESE.
8:12 But she – they both make math fun.
8:14 There is a math bingo that I thought was the coolest thing.
8:18 I thought, how come we didn’t have that when I was a kid?
8:20 So, she’s making it a lot of fun.
8:22 Both those teachers are making math fun and enjoyable, and kids
8:26 are getting rewards for being on their best and learning math.
8:32 Then I moved on to Saturn, where I happened to substitute one
8:38 day.
8:38 And I want to give a shout out to the whole Saturn math team.
8:41 Again, these are phenomenal teachers who are working real hard
8:46 to bring up our scores.
8:47 And also, in Saturn, they have an amazing third grade team of
8:52 teachers.
8:53 And so, thank you to my third grade team there in Saturn and all
8:57 the work you do.
8:57 One of my favorite people there at Saturn also is – I’m a
9:01 little prejudiced – but it’s Ms. Jackie, who is the school
9:06 counselor.
9:06 If you ever need a time out and you want to have a D-STEM, she
9:12 has the coolest office ever.
9:15 She’s got a Zen sand table.
9:17 When I was there, she was doing a group with kids, with our
9:20 students.
9:20 And you could tell that the stress level just comes down when
9:24 you walk into her office.
9:25 So, it’s very cool.
9:26 That was Jackie Small.
9:27 I should get her last name.
9:28 Very cool.
9:29 There’s a whole bunch more people, but I will save them for the
9:33 next time.
9:33 I just want to give a shout-out to all the amazing staff that we
9:38 do have here at Brevard.
9:40 Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
9:41 Ms. Tuskevich, would you like to go next?
9:44 Sure.
9:45 I have two, because I think you all are going to cover some of
9:49 the others from this past week.
9:51 One is a thank you to the Daughters of the American Colonists
9:56 and the United States Daughters of 1812.
9:59 They have made it a priority to help make sure our students are
10:05 fully engaged in learning about our Constitution and founding
10:09 documents.
10:09 So, they invited me to spend a luncheon with them.
10:12 And the process was, maybe I’ll even share the presentation with
10:15 you all that I put together.
10:17 Because, you know, I hounded poor Dr. Sullivan back there quite
10:22 a bit for stats and statistics and test scores for our students
10:25 between civics and American government.
10:27 And I was really able to lay out all that our students, when
10:31 they’re introduced to the Constitution, it was interesting.
10:34 And so, it also includes some ways that maybe these groups and
10:38 other organizations can also contribute to donating pocket
10:40 constitutions.
10:41 Although, Dr. Sullivan says she has an app for that.
10:44 So, it was a good afternoon.
10:48 And I think it helped bring to the forefront some areas that we
10:52 could grow probably on studying or founding documents here at
10:55 the district.
10:55 And the other one I have is not so much a thank you and shout
10:58 out, but I’m going to shamelessly plug the Children’s Hunger
11:02 Project annual fundraiser on February 11th.
11:04 I have to fill a table of 10.
11:06 I have two more seats at my table.
11:08 If anyone would like to join me that day.
11:13 It is of no cost.
11:15 But they will – they will hand you for a donation, just so you
11:18 know.
11:18 When is it?
11:19 It’s February 11th.
11:21 There’s a board meeting that day.
11:22 But the luncheon is over by 1:00.
11:24 Like, we were out at 1:01 last year.
11:26 So, just – you can let me know offline.
11:28 And I didn’t mean just school board members.
11:29 If anyone – we have two slots at my table.
11:31 We’d love to have you.
11:32 Thanks, Ms. Belford.
11:35 Thank you, Ms. Deskovic.
11:37 Oh, it’s already on.
11:38 Yeah?
11:39 Great.
11:40 And I’ll make a donation.
11:41 Exactly.
11:42 Mr. Susan, would you like to go next with recognition?
11:43 I’m good.
11:44 Pass.
11:45 What?
11:47 He’s not done making his list yet.
11:48 I’m going to give a – no, I’m going to give a pre-K update at
11:50 the end of it.
11:50 Okay.
11:51 That’s more for discussion in general, not a shout-out.
11:52 But there are some people involved.
11:53 They’ll get that done.
11:54 Okay.
11:55 Ms. Campbell.
11:56 How about a clap, guys?
11:57 Ms. Campbell.
11:58 Hey, Mr. Susan.
11:59 All right.
12:00 I’ll take up your time.
12:01 No, I’m just kidding.
12:02 So, first thing I wanted to share is that back in December we
12:12 talked about tied together,
12:13 and they have been doing great work with our students, our male
12:18 students.
12:18 And it’s way more than just teaching them how to tie a tie.
12:21 Just the mentoring that’s happening, bringing in not just the
12:25 leadership of tied together,
12:26 but the dads and the men from the community at each school.
12:30 But the question came up, what about the girls?
12:33 And in multiple places, what about the girls?
12:36 On Facebook posts, in our meeting, you know, in messages going
12:40 back and forth.
12:40 And so I am just so thankful for Ann Conroy-Bader and the
12:43 leadership and her team at Junior Achievement
12:45 because they personally took that on.
12:47 And she went to her board and said, hey, we want to be the
12:49 people who kind of partner with tied together.
12:52 So whenever they have an event for our young men in our schools,
12:55 we do one for our women.
12:55 And they’re not just sitting in class being bored or wondering
12:59 why I can’t.
13:00 I learned how to tie a tie.
13:01 And by the way, sometimes the girls do come down and they have
13:04 the freedom to do that.
13:04 But she, Dr. Rendell at Cocoa Beach Junior Senior High said, hey,
13:09 we’ve got tied together coming on the 17th.
13:10 Literally the day after she had her board approve that, can you
13:14 do something for the girls?
13:14 And she put together a fabulous panel of women, young women who
13:21 are in, not just in the steam field.
13:22 They are, one of them works for NASA.
13:25 One of them works for, right, Harris.
13:29 One of them worked for Rockwell Collins.
13:30 One of them is a Florida Tech student, all in the aerospace
13:33 industry.
13:33 And these young women did a great job just sharing, not just
13:37 about that field, but giving our young ladies some goals and
13:41 dreams and practical tips for navigating the process of thinking
13:44 about your future.
13:45 That even if you’re not interested in going into aerospace or
13:48 engineering, just some things that would be really helpful.
13:50 So I’m just really thankful that she put that together so
13:52 quickly.
13:52 And I’m looking forward to continue to see that program grow.
13:55 It doesn’t have a name yet.
13:56 But real thankful for Junior Achievement, what they do in our
14:00 schools.
14:00 Last Tuesday was the first annual or repeating, I guess it’s
14:06 been a while if they’ve had it before, Brevard Day at the
14:09 Capitol.
14:09 And so we were able to go up and Ms. Deskovich and Ms. Belford
14:15 were there.
14:16 And we, along with some of our business and community leaders,
14:20 some of our city council members and city managers and chamber
14:24 of commerce people from end to end of our county,
14:27 went up and were able to spend some time with not just our
14:31 legislative delegation from Brevard,
14:34 but got to meet with several of our legislative leaders from
14:39 across the state.
14:40 And I’m so thankful for especially Representative Soroy and
14:45 Senator Wright who kind of coordinated the day.
14:48 Their offices did.
14:49 I’m pretty sure that a few of their assistants did a bulk of the
14:52 work.
14:52 But just thankful for them coordinating that so that we could
14:55 have a fabulous day representing Brevard.
14:56 Thank you, Matt Reed, for having a table there representing BPS.
15:00 And had lots of people come by and hear the great things that we’re
15:05 able to do.
15:06 There were other organizations from our county there on the one
15:09 of the floors where people could walk around and see.
15:11 So that was a great day.
15:13 And we’re able to talk about teacher salaries, about affordable
15:17 housing, about obviously the lagoon that’s high up on our rise
15:20 party list from the chambers.
15:21 But some other things related to our schools.
15:23 So that was good.
15:24 And we also got to sit – it was very educational and helpful to
15:28 sit in on a few of the committee sessions.
15:30 And our – two of our board members got to speak at those and
15:34 hear how things are going when it comes to security, mental
15:37 health, and –
15:40 Term limits.
15:43 Insurance.
15:44 Things like that.
15:45 And then finally, one of my very favorite days as a board member
15:49 happened again last weekend, which was all county day.
15:52 And got to have an afternoon and evening hearing our students
15:57 just perform so beautifully.
15:59 And I just got goosebumps several times.
16:03 So, so proud of all of our students and the hard work that our
16:07 teachers do to get them prepared.
16:08 I’m thankful for Cindy Johnson for coordinating it all.
16:11 And they just outdid themselves with their performances on
16:16 Saturday.
16:16 So a huge shout out to all our music programs at the secondary
16:20 level for the great job that they did this weekend.
16:24 Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
16:26 Dr. Mullins?
16:27 Thank you, Ms. Belford.
16:30 I want to kind of piggyback on the trip to Tallahassee.
16:35 We also had 15 of our student government leaders go to Tallahassee.
16:39 They – well, I think the earliest I heard they got up was 2:00
16:43 in the morning.
16:43 Met here at 4:30 and drove to Tallahassee.
16:47 And Mr. Reid helped coordinate our students to meet with
16:53 legislators to share their –
16:56 their support for the legislation around restricting vaping.
17:01 And you – we’ve made presentation to the board.
17:04 So we’re certainly aware of the challenges and – and the impact
17:08 that – that negative impact that is having on our schools.
17:11 I just have to tell you, our student leaders were absolutely
17:15 phenomenal.
17:15 They owned the day.
17:18 These individuals were prepared.
17:21 They were poised.
17:23 They were professional.
17:24 They walked into these ominous offices with state legislators
17:31 and just so articulately presented their position.
17:34 And other than an occasional introduction, we never had to say
17:39 anything as the – the chaperones or the – kind of helping them
17:42 get to one place to the next.
17:43 And it was just impressive to see our student leaders really use
17:47 their voice in such a positive and impactful way.
17:50 Saturday, in addition to the – the concerts, I had the
17:54 privilege of being part of the Starbase ribbon cutting – did
17:57 you – did you mention that, Ms. – no?
17:59 Ms. Deskovich was there with us.
18:01 Starbase is a military program that sets up the – a facility on
18:09 their base or affiliated, in this case, with Patrick Air Force
18:14 Base, that accommodates our students to go and engage with
18:18 military leaders, engineers, technicians, and so on.
18:22 They bring the expertise and they bring the programming to give
18:26 our kids hands-on, real innovative and creative experiences.
18:30 So our fifth grade students are going to benefit.
18:33 The – the Air Force Base invested over $200,000 in renovating
18:39 this space near the – near the base and very excited that we’ll
18:43 have four or five schools be able to participate even before the
18:46 end of the year and looking for additional students to
18:48 participate next year.
18:49 So I just want to do a shout-out to General Chess, commander of
18:53 the base, for making this a priority in his really short tenure
18:57 at Patrick.
18:58 When he came – first time I met him, he said, “Let’s talk about
19:01 Starbase.
19:01 I want to make that happen.”
19:02 And he did in virtually a year.
19:04 So just very appreciative of that partnership.
19:08 Yesterday I had the privilege to read with a bunch of students
19:12 at Harper City Elementary in recognition of Celebrate Literacy
19:17 Week Florida.
19:17 This is the week – this is the week – this is Literacy Week in
19:20 Florida.
19:20 And I got to read them the book, “The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
19:25 So if you were wondering the origins of Rock, Paper, Scissors,
19:29 the game, you want to take – you want to take up that book.
19:31 But it was a lot of fun.
19:32 And if I may take advantage of one more opportunity to do a
19:37 shout-out and share with you a community leader who has been a
19:42 phenomenal partner with Brevard Public Schools.
19:44 Last board meeting I shared with you that while we were meeting
19:48 at Rockage High School, Michael Cadore – and we have to include
19:53 his amazing bride Cornelia because he can only do a tenth of
19:57 what he can with the support of his wife.
19:59 But he has sponsored, he has championed, he has led what is
20:04 called Infinite Scholars.
20:06 And it is an opportunity that colleges come to a community
20:11 prepared to give students college acceptance letters and
20:16 scholarships on the spot, in the moment, through meeting with
20:21 students.
20:21 So I’m going to do a rundown of the last four years of what this
20:26 has brought to our community.
20:28 In 2017, we had 194 students participate and $3.3 million in
20:34 scholarships awarded.
20:35 In 2018, 385 students, over $4.2 million in scholarships.
20:41 2019, 454 students, over $5.1 million in scholarships awarded on
20:48 that night.
20:49 And two weeks ago, 562 students, over $8.2 million in
20:55 scholarships awarded on that night.
20:57 So Michael called me a few days ago and he said, “Hey, I want to
21:09 do something for students in transition.”
21:12 He said, “I’d like to make a contribution, donation to that
21:15 effort.”
21:15 And I said, “Come to the board meeting because I want to do a
21:17 shout out for you anyway.”
21:18 Michael and Cornelia, would you come on up to the podium?
21:24 He said, “Come to the board meeting.
21:25 I want to highlight Infinite Scholars after I got the data.”
21:31 Almost 1,600 students impacted over the last four years and
21:36 almost $21 million in scholarships collectively provided.
21:40 So Michael, give you the mic for a minute and then I want to
21:44 present you with something.
21:45 Thank you.
21:46 Well, good evening.
21:47 Thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity to be able to
21:50 serve our community.
21:50 It’s truly a blessing to be here before you.
21:52 But my wife and I were just looking at being able, how can we
21:56 give back to our community?
21:57 And a lot of times we focus on our youth and also our seniors.
22:00 But I’d just like to be able to state that on behalf of my wife
22:04 and I, we wanted to make a donation to the Brevard Schools
22:07 Foundation.
22:07 Earmarking for our students in transition.
22:10 We’re very amazed at the number of kids who are homeless.
22:15 And we just wanted to give a donation of $250 just to help with
22:19 the cause, to help with our students who are in transition here
22:22 in Brevard County.
22:23 And as always, my wife doesn’t want to say anything and before
22:29 she pinches me, I’m going to conclude that.
22:32 Well, before you go anywhere, we have a practice.
22:35 And that is we take the opportunity to recognize individuals
22:39 across our district and in our community this year with what is
22:43 an impact pin.
22:43 And I just want to, on behalf of the board and the students that
22:49 you are impacting in our community with our impact pin,
22:53 having a strong effect on someone or something or someones and
22:58 making an impact on our district.
22:59 Thank you for all that you do for Brevard Public Schools on
23:03 behalf of the board and our students.
23:05 Thank you so much.
23:17 There’s going to be a photo box.
23:19 One of those over here?
23:23 Yeah, I know I spent a lot of it.
23:25 Oh, yeah.
23:47 There’s going to be a photo box.
24:17 Mr. Cador, thank you for doing what you do.
24:27 Misty’s told us over and over again
24:29 that that night is one of the most special nights
24:31 that we have in our public schools.
24:33 And I really appreciate you coming here tonight
24:35 and donating $250.
24:37 I think Dr. Mullins should do a social media post
24:40 and push out and have other people match it.
24:42 Because if there’s an area inside our school system
24:45 that is truly needed is the students in transition.
24:47 And you taking a lead and just saying,
24:50 hey, this is what I want to do unselfishly
24:52 in an area that you hadn’t been championing before.
24:54 Man, I mean, I would say it now.
24:57 My wife would be mad because she watches this
24:58 that I’m going to give $250.
25:00 But, you know, I’d go wash cars for $250 right now
25:03 or something.
25:03 But no, I’m just telling you, man,
25:05 thank you for everything you do.
25:06 If we had 100 of you in our school system,
25:08 life would be a whole lot easier.
25:10 So thank you, sir.
25:11 Thank you.
25:11 Does that conclude your recognitions for this evening, Dr. Mullins?
25:24 Yes, ma’am.
25:25 Thank you.
25:25 All right.
25:27 I will wrap up the recognitions then this evening.
25:31 I wanted to give a huge shout-out and thank you
25:35 to our friends at Who We Play For.
25:36 They asked me to attend the Heart Watch Conference with them,
25:40 I think two weekends ago.
25:43 And the Heart Watch Conference is a national conference
25:46 where people come together who have lost,
25:49 it primarily has been people who have lost children
25:51 to sudden cardiac arrest.
25:52 It has been expanding the past few years
25:57 to also include survivors.
25:58 And so Sean Seema was there, Evan Ernst was there,
26:02 Kurt was there.
26:03 And they asked me to come and speak along with Evan
26:07 about how to work with school districts in their area
26:11 to address the heart screenings and that sort of thing.
26:14 And we talked about some of the challenges in the process
26:17 and some of the things that have worked really well
26:19 and how we have managed to work together
26:21 to get all through it.
26:22 But so thank you to them for including me.
26:27 But I have to share with you all,
26:28 as you walk into the conference,
26:30 as you’re walking down the halls of the hotel,
26:32 there are tripods down the hallway with pictures.
26:38 And they are, some of them are survivors
26:41 and some of them are students who have been lost
26:43 and they identify on there.
26:44 But what it did for me was absolutely reinforce
26:49 that we have done the right thing in Brevard.
26:50 We are up to, I think, 11, maybe 12 now,
26:55 students that have been identified in Brevard County
26:58 with potentially fatal heart issues
27:00 that have actually gone in and had surgeries.
27:04 And that wouldn’t have happened
27:05 without obviously the support of you guys
27:07 and the hard work of Chris Moore
27:09 and her team in the process.
27:10 And so thank you to all of you who made that possible
27:13 because it truly is having an impact on lives.
27:16 Also want to give a huge shout out
27:18 to the Titusville Rotaries.
27:20 So we have three rotaries in Titusville.
27:22 We have the Sunrise Rotary,
27:23 the Noon Rotary, and the Evening Rotary.
27:26 The three rotaries came together
27:28 with actually my nonprofit Swim Safe Forever
27:30 this past Saturday to do a water safety day.
27:34 But the really cool thing is
27:35 that they sponsored 50 students
27:37 from Coquina Elementary
27:38 to come and bowl with their families during the event.
27:41 And so the assistant principal was there from Coquina
27:44 and all of the Coquina kids came and bowled.
27:47 And we had Josh the otter there,
27:49 which you guys probably don’t know Josh,
27:51 but he’s, you know, a life-size baby otter.
27:55 Josh was a little boy that passed from drowning
27:57 and his parents started the Josh the baby otter movement
28:00 and they have books and all this stuff.
28:02 So Josh was there and took pictures with the kids
28:04 and we did raffles and they had pizza and drinks.
28:07 And it was just really great to see the kids
28:10 and their families out having so much fun
28:11 and mingling with other families
28:13 that they didn’t know from the school
28:14 and that sort of thing.
28:15 So many thanks to the Titusville Rotaries
28:20 for their efforts in putting all of that together.
28:22 and making sure that the students had that opportunity.
28:25 And then I want to give a shout-out to a couple of my North End
28:28 folks
28:28 who joined us at the meeting this evening.
28:30 I know it’s a long trek, but we appreciate you being here.
28:33 I have Randall Clay, Bill Gary, Ruth.
28:37 Is your last name Gary? I’m sorry.
28:39 Ruth is Bill’s wife, but I always hate to assume last names
28:42 because I’ve gotten pinched on that a couple times.
28:45 So Bill Gary, Ruth Gary, and also Pastor A.J. Davis from St.
28:51 James AME
28:52 have joined us this evening.
28:53 So we appreciate you guys making the trek
28:55 and look forward to having a hopefully a good meeting for you
28:59 guys.
28:59 And that is all I have as far as recognition.
29:02 So I think that is bringing us to the adoption of our agenda.
29:06 Dr. Mullins.
29:07 Ms. Belford and members of the board, on tonight’s agenda,
29:13 we have administrative staff recommendations,
29:16 22 consent items, four action items,
29:19 two of which are public hearings and five information items.
29:23 You also have the yellow supplemental agenda,
29:25 which are changes made to the agenda
29:27 since being released to the public.
29:28 Items A7 on administrative staff recommendations,
29:31 F12 on instructional staff recommendations,
29:35 and G34 on attendance boundary proposals
29:38 for school year 2020-2021.
29:41 All received revisions.
29:43 What are the wishes of the board?
29:44 Move to approve.
29:45 Second.
29:46 Moved by Mr. Susan.
29:47 Seconded by Ms. McDougall.
29:49 Any discussion?
29:50 Please vote.
29:53 I think we’re getting this.
30:06 Hmm?
30:07 I’m getting it.
30:08 Yeah, we’re getting it.
30:09 Is it, are you, is it able to vote?
30:11 I voted.
30:12 You did?
30:13 I did.
30:14 Oh, go down to the bottom over here.
30:16 You got it?
30:17 Yeah.
30:17 East side got it.
30:20 And I’m going to apologize ahead of time
30:22 for those of you who don’t join us
30:23 on a regular basis.
30:24 We are utilizing new technology for our agenda
30:27 and this is only our second meeting with it,
30:31 so we’re still working out some kinks along the way.
30:33 Let’s move it quicker.
30:34 Is it?
30:35 We got it over here.
30:36 East side, you got it.
30:38 Nice.
30:39 East side.
30:39 I think actually we’re the last side.
30:41 Gibbs is down there.
30:42 No, no, no, no, where do you?
30:43 Do you have a count on that vote, Pam?
30:45 I’m not seeing.
30:45 Five to zero.
30:46 And the motion passes five-zero.
30:49 All right, Dr. Mullins,
30:52 would you please let us know
30:53 about the administrative staff recommendations?
30:54 Yes, Madam Chair and members of the board,
30:57 there are two persons on this agenda item
30:59 for the board to consider.
30:59 What are the wishes of the board?
31:02 Move to approve.
31:03 Second.
31:03 Moved by Mr. Susan,
31:05 seconded by Ms. Campbell.
31:06 Any discussion?
31:07 Please vote.
31:17 Ms. Housekeeper, do you have a count on that vote?
31:35 Five to zero.
31:36 The motion passed five-zero.
31:37 We are now at public comments.
31:42 So, school board policy 0169.1 limits to 30 minutes.
31:46 We actually only have two speakers this evening.
31:48 So, each speaker is limited to three minutes.
31:51 We have a clock in front of me
31:52 to help you keep track of your time.
31:53 When your time is over,
31:54 you will be asked to stop
31:55 and allow the next speaker his or her turn.
31:57 Always keep in mind that reasonable decorum
31:59 is expected at all times
32:00 and your statement should be directed to the board chair.
32:01 The chair may interrupt, warn,
32:03 or terminate a participant’s statement
32:05 when time is up,
32:06 personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.
32:10 Should an individual not observe proper etiquette,
32:12 the chairman may request
32:13 the individual leave the meeting.
32:14 Let’s all encourage an environment appropriate
32:16 for our children who may be present
32:18 or are watching from home.
32:19 Our speakers this evening
32:21 are Anthony Colucci and Vanessa Skipper.
32:24 Thank you.
32:54 My name is Anthony Colucci.
33:03 I’m the president
33:04 of the Brevard Federation of Teachers.
33:06 As of today,
33:07 there are still 60 instructional vacancies
33:10 in our district.
33:11 This means there are hundreds
33:13 and potentially thousands of students
33:15 who either do not have a certified teacher
33:17 in front of them
33:18 or are being taught in classrooms
33:19 that exceed class size amendment.
33:22 Across the state,
33:23 300,000 students started school
33:25 without a full-time permanent teacher.
33:27 It is abundantly clear
33:29 that we have a problem
33:30 in Brevard and in the state.
33:32 Tonight, I’m here to offer
33:33 a solution to this problem,
33:35 a solution that I believe
33:37 will save the district money.
33:38 I want to start off with a quote
33:41 I once heard about school reformers
33:43 whose actions led
33:44 to this current teacher shortage.
33:48 That quote is,
33:49 you can’t fire your way to Finland,
33:51 which means that you can’t keep firing
33:54 bad teachers
33:55 to reach the levels
33:56 of student success in Finland.
33:58 This is a flawed idea.
34:00 In a low-paid, high-stress profession
34:02 that is constantly under attack
34:04 by legislators,
34:05 there aren’t scores of qualified people
34:07 lining up to fill vacant positions.
34:09 So just like public school teachers
34:11 who can’t choose the students
34:13 in front of them,
34:14 BPS must work with what they have
34:16 and develop employees
34:17 until they reach their potential.
34:19 The problem is,
34:20 BPS doesn’t have enough staff
34:22 working on developing teachers
34:24 who are in need of more help.
34:25 Specifically,
34:26 we only have three district peer mentor teachers
34:30 for nearly 4,900 teachers.
34:33 Our IPIS evaluation manual
34:37 notes that BPS makes available
34:38 to all teachers
34:40 the services of district peer mentor teachers.
34:43 It goes on to describe peer mentor teachers
34:45 as highly trained
34:46 and qualified professionals
34:47 who work with new teachers,
34:49 teachers experiencing difficulties,
34:51 or any other teacher
34:52 who could benefit
34:53 from a professional collegial service.
34:55 I will tell you
34:57 that our district peer mentor teachers
34:58 do amazing work,
34:59 and I believe most admins
35:01 in the district
35:01 see their value as well.
35:03 But there are only so many teachers
35:05 in schools they can get to every day.
35:07 When I think about new teachers
35:09 who left or were terminated
35:10 in only a few weeks’ time
35:12 or frustrated teachers
35:13 who resigned
35:14 because they couldn’t take it anymore,
35:16 I wonder if those teachers,
35:18 if those teachers worked
35:19 with a district peer mentor,
35:21 their stories would have been different.
35:23 I wonder if it would have been different
35:24 for our students
35:25 who lost their teachers.
35:26 I wonder what it does
35:28 to a kindergarten student
35:29 to lose their teacher
35:30 after a few weeks.
35:31 Studies show
35:33 that it costs districts
35:34 approximately $15,000
35:37 for each new hire,
35:38 including district
35:40 and school expenses
35:41 related to separation,
35:42 recruitment, hiring, and training.
35:44 These investments
35:45 don’t pay their full dividend
35:46 when teachers leave
35:47 within one or two years.
35:49 I would strongly suggest
35:50 you look at a tool
35:51 called
35:52 What’s the Cost of Teacher Turnover
35:54 at LearningPolicyInstitute.org
35:56 that estimates the cost
35:58 of 400 teachers
35:59 leaving a suburban district
36:00 at $4.4 million.
36:02 With that said,
36:04 I’m recommending
36:05 that BPS create
36:06 at least two more
36:07 district peer mentor positions
36:09 next year.
36:09 Essentially,
36:10 if BPS went ahead
36:12 and did that,
36:13 and between the five mentor teachers,
36:15 they prevented
36:16 six teachers
36:16 from resigning,
36:17 it would at the very least
36:19 be a cost-neutral decision.
36:21 At the school level,
36:23 the positive impact
36:24 of improved pedagogy,
36:28 classroom management,
36:30 smaller classes,
36:32 and less upheaval
36:34 due to turnover
36:35 would certainly
36:36 do better.
36:39 There’s nobody here.
36:40 Can you let me finish?
36:41 There’s nobody here.
36:43 You hold everybody
36:47 for those three minutes.
36:48 You and Ms. Skipper,
36:51 Mr. Colucci?
36:52 You can give me extra time.
36:53 No, no, you can.
36:54 Vanessa Skipper,
36:56 Vice President,
36:57 Brevard Federation of Teachers.
36:58 For everyone in the room
37:00 and those listening at home,
37:01 I’d like to give an update
37:02 on what is happening
37:03 in Tallahassee this session.
37:04 Again, we are asking everyone
37:06 to do their part
37:07 in contacting
37:08 our local delegation
37:09 regularly throughout the session.
37:11 Not just one phone call,
37:12 not just one email,
37:14 daily contact
37:16 to our legislative delegation.
37:18 An easy way to do this
37:20 is to visit
37:20 feaweb.org
37:23 go to Issues and Actions
37:24 on the left tab
37:25 and click the 2020
37:26 legislative session
37:27 to stay up to date
37:28 and involved.
37:29 You will be able
37:30 to enter your address
37:31 and it will take you
37:32 directly to your legislators.
37:33 We encourage everyone
37:35 to contact
37:36 the entire Brevard delegation,
37:38 even though you might not
37:40 obviously reside
37:41 in every single district.
37:42 Senators Wright and Mayfield
37:44 and Representatives
37:44 Placentia, Altman,
37:46 Soroye, and Fine.
37:46 The decisions they make
37:48 affect all of us in Brevard
37:49 regardless of whose district
37:51 you might live.
37:53 Senate Bill 62
37:55 is one that we are watching.
37:57 It’s part of the salary puzzle.
37:59 An amendment to this bill
38:00 was dropped yesterday
38:01 and the bill is scheduled
38:02 to be heard
38:03 in the Senate Appropriations
38:04 Subcommittee on Education
38:06 at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
38:07 Our objectives remain the same.
38:10 Salary increases for all,
38:12 no bonuses,
38:13 and salary decisions
38:15 must be made
38:15 at the local level.
38:16 We continue to work
38:18 to influence the outcome
38:19 of any legislation
38:20 dealing with pay
38:21 and encourage all those
38:22 listening to do the same.
38:23 Know that the Senate plan
38:25 currently does not
38:26 include bonuses
38:28 and does include
38:29 all teachers,
38:30 including Pre-K,
38:31 but it does not cover
38:32 our education staff
38:33 professionals.
38:34 While BFT does not
38:35 negotiate for our
38:36 education staff professionals
38:37 or our school administrators,
38:39 we recognize the valuable
38:40 role they all play
38:42 every day for the success
38:43 of our students.
38:43 I cannot say it enough.
38:45 We cannot be the only ones
38:48 advocating for this.
38:49 We must all work together.
38:51 So if you’re listening,
38:52 have you emailed?
38:54 Have you called?
38:55 Have you tweeted a legislator?
38:57 The time is now.
38:58 The next bill we’re watching
39:00 is Senate Bill 486.
39:01 Senate Bill 486
39:03 is sponsored by Rob Bradley
39:04 would repeal
39:06 the Best and Brightest program.
39:07 The bill passed
39:08 its first committee stop
39:09 when it received
39:10 unanimous support
39:11 from the Senate
39:12 Education Committee.
39:13 It will be heard
39:15 again tomorrow.
39:16 Best and Brightest
39:17 has been flawed
39:18 from the very start
39:19 and has failed
39:20 in its stated purpose
39:21 of recruiting
39:22 and retaining teachers.
39:23 When it comes
39:24 to educator compensation,
39:26 Tallahassee should restore
39:27 local control
39:28 and let school districts
39:30 and local unions
39:31 bargain how to best
39:32 determine educator pay.
39:34 Florida’s legislators
39:36 should listen to educators
39:37 and use the $300 million
39:39 saved by repealing
39:40 Best and Brightest
39:41 to increase salaries
39:43 for all educators,
39:44 not just classroom teachers.
39:46 So again,
39:47 have you called?
39:48 Have you emailed?
39:49 Have you tweeted?
39:50 Have you tagged
39:51 a legislator on Facebook?
39:52 It’s not one and done.
39:54 There are around 50 days
39:57 left in session
39:58 and everybody should be
39:59 doing their part
40:00 every single day.
40:01 Thank you.
40:02 Thank you, Ms. Skipper.
40:04 The board wishes
40:08 to thank this evening’s speakers.
40:09 Your willingness
40:10 to speak to the board
40:10 is appreciated.
40:12 That moves us
40:13 into the consent agenda.
40:14 Dr. Mullins.
40:15 Ms. Belford,
40:21 if I may,
40:21 just in response
40:22 to Mr. Colucci’s comments
40:25 in support
40:26 of our peer mentor teachers,
40:27 thank you
40:27 for supporting the work
40:29 of our peer mentor teachers.
40:30 I did want to add
40:31 we do have in our schools
40:33 mentor teachers as well
40:34 that are assigned
40:35 to new teachers
40:36 and they’re provided
40:37 albeit a very small supplement
40:39 but we do have
40:40 that effort as well
40:41 and I want to give
40:41 the recognition
40:42 and to our teachers
40:44 in the schools as well
40:45 that are working
40:46 with our new teachers also.
40:47 So, thank you.
40:49 There are 22 items
40:52 under the consent agenda.
40:53 Thank you, Dr. Mullins.
40:58 Does any board member
41:00 wish to pull any item
41:02 from the consent agenda?
41:04 Going once,
41:05 going twice.
41:06 All right.
41:07 Then I will entertain
41:08 a motion to accept
41:09 the consent items
41:09 as presented.
41:10 Move to approve.
41:11 Second.
41:11 Moved by Mr. Susan.
41:13 Seconded by Ms. Deskovich.
41:14 Any discussion?
41:15 Please vote.
41:34 The motion passes 5-0.
41:36 Thank you, Ms. Escobar.
41:38 All right.
41:42 We will move on
41:44 to the action agenda,
41:45 Dr. Mullins.
41:46 There are a total
41:47 of four action items
41:49 on this evening’s agenda.
41:50 The first one is
41:55 on department school
41:56 initiated agreements.
41:57 What are the wishes
41:58 of the board?
41:58 Move to approve.
41:59 Second.
41:59 Moved by Mr. Susan.
42:01 Seconded by Ms. Campbell.
42:02 Any discussion?
42:03 Please vote.
42:04 I like singing.
42:13 Okay.
42:15 Oh, I thought you were
42:19 cutting on my singing.
42:20 That’s what it was.
42:21 I heard you were going to say.
42:22 The motion passes 5-0.
42:24 Dr. Mullins.
42:25 Next is on procurement
42:28 solicitations.
42:29 What are the wishes
42:30 of the board?
42:30 Move to approve.
42:31 Second.
42:31 Moved by Mr. Susan.
42:34 Who seconded?
42:35 Me.
42:35 Ms. McDougall.
42:37 Sorry.
42:38 Is there any discussion?
42:40 All right.
42:42 Please vote.
42:42 The motion passes 5-0.
42:59 Dr. Mullins.
43:01 Our next item is to hold
43:04 a public hearing
43:05 and approve the Brevard
43:06 Public Schools
43:06 Student Progression Plan
43:08 for the 2019-2020
43:10 school year.
43:11 Is there anyone
43:12 who has come here tonight
43:13 who wishes to publicly
43:14 address the Student Progression Plan
43:16 for the 2019-2020
43:18 school year?
43:18 Is there anyone
43:21 who has come here tonight
43:22 who wishes to publicly
43:23 address the Student Progression Plan
43:24 for the 2019-2020
43:26 school year?
43:27 What are the wishes
43:29 of the board?
43:29 Move to approve.
43:30 Second.
43:31 Moved by Mr. Susan.
43:33 Seconded by Ms. Campbell.
43:34 Any discussion?
43:35 Please vote.
43:37 The motion passes 5-0.
43:55 Our last, oh, Dr. Mullins.
43:59 I was going to be you.
44:01 Our last action item
44:03 is to hold a public hearing
44:04 and approve the
44:05 Attendance Boundary Proposal
44:06 for the school year
44:08 2020-2021.
44:10 Is there anyone
44:12 who has come here tonight
44:13 who wishes to publicly
44:14 address the Attendance Boundary
44:15 Proposals for school year
44:16 2020-21?
44:18 Is there anyone
44:20 who has come here tonight
44:21 who wishes to publicly
44:22 address the Attendance Boundary
44:24 Proposals for the school year
44:25 2020-2021?
44:27 What are the wishes
44:29 of the board?
44:31 Move to approve.
44:32 Move by Ms. Campbell.
44:33 I’ll second.
44:35 Seconded by Ms. McDougall.
44:37 Any discussion?
44:37 Please vote.
44:41 Is it not going?
44:48 Did everybody vote?
45:05 The motion passes 5-0.
45:17 Did you get it on your end?
45:18 We’re now at the information items,
45:30 which are items
45:30 that may be brought back later
45:31 for board consideration.
45:32 No action will be taken
45:33 on these items this evening.
45:34 Dr. Mullins.
45:35 There are five information items
45:37 on this evening’s agenda,
45:38 all of which are policy revisions.
45:40 Does anyone want to discuss
45:41 any of these items?
45:42 Okay.
45:45 Does any board member
45:46 have anything further to report?
45:47 Mr. Susan.
45:50 Thank you, Madam Chair.
45:51 I wanted to first off say thank you.
45:53 I met with two pre-K teachers up in Tallahassee
45:58 that sat back and walked the halls
46:00 to find out where the pain points were
46:03 with making pre-K teachers certified
46:05 in the state of Florida.
46:07 And we immediately, once inside some
46:10 of the discussions with leadership
46:12 from Representative Grawl and others
46:14 who are currently working on policy bills
46:17 for pre-K in that area of early development,
46:21 it became evident that some of the things
46:24 that were being communicated
46:25 to our representatives and senators
46:27 in Tallahassee may not be statistically backed up
46:31 and may need some further discussion.
46:32 And I did want to give first off the credit
46:35 to the pre-K teachers that were involved
46:37 in this process, Ms. Webb and Ms. Harding,
46:39 but also to the state representatives
46:42 and education policy staff in both the House
46:44 and the Senate who were willing to listen.
46:46 Because a lot of times when they’re taking
46:47 out an issue, you don’t want to listen.
46:49 And having that open dialogue with respect
46:51 on both ends is what ended up happening.
46:53 So I wanted to go over some of those quick points.
46:55 What the first piece that was argued is
46:58 that we choose to voluntarily provide VP –
47:01 they said, well, it’s not an issue because you choose
47:06 to do VP – the problem with that is we don’t choose
47:09 to do Head Start.
47:11 We don’t choose to do ELK.
47:12 We don’t choose to do VE.
47:15 We don’t choose to do ESE.
47:17 Okay? So the majority of the services we’re providing for pre-K
47:21 are not chosen to do.
47:23 It is required to do.
47:25 Okay?
47:26 The next step is, is that ESE in every single situation required
47:32 by the state of Florida is required to have a certified teacher.
47:35 So if you have a VPK classroom that has an ESE student, you
47:40 should be providing those services
47:43 to that student in that classroom.
47:45 So we are talking about creating and certifying teachers in only
47:50 VPK classes that are not ESE
47:54 because Head Start requires it, ELP and VE requires it because
47:59 those are ESE and all ESE designated.
48:01 So you’re talking about a very small percentage of classrooms
48:06 that this is.
48:07 So that was the first misconception.
48:08 And if you guys need any help, like follow up on any other, it’s
48:12 great.
48:12 The next misconception that we had was that it would decimate
48:15 private providers inside of
48:17 a school district because of we would be, because we would be
48:23 providing certified teachers in
48:25 the school district, it would legitimately decimate the other
48:28 providers.
48:29 So we looked, spent four hours last night looking at all of the
48:32 data.
48:33 And what we found was is that the actual school districts that
48:36 have certified teachers inside
48:38 of them already like ours across the state of Florida.
48:42 You can look back at the five years worth of data and find that
48:45 in actuality, the growth
48:46 percentages can remain consistent.
48:49 So there’s no, as we had a school district that had certified
48:52 teachers that we were providing
48:53 already, that we would then take over all of the other programs.
48:57 It just doesn’t happen.
48:59 There’s no statistical data anywhere.
49:01 And that’s backed up by three other individuals at the state
49:03 that we requested from the DOE.
49:06 So that was a misconception.
49:07 There was also a misconception that if you extend drop that it’s
49:11 going to increase the budget
49:13 at the state level for the DOE.
49:15 So we went back and started looking at each one of the pre-K
49:19 teachers that were inside of
49:21 our system that we knew that and said, how’s this?
49:24 And statistically, this was difficult to find out.
49:27 But what we found inside of our district was that if a pre-K
49:31 teacher was coming to drop
49:32 and they could no longer extend, that all they did was jump up
49:36 to kindergarten, which is our
49:37 biggest fear.
49:38 Because instead of having an educated person with all that
49:42 experience staying in pre-K for
49:44 the extended time that we need them, which we need, we know the
49:47 60 vacancies, is that we
49:48 need those people there.
49:49 They’re jumping up.
49:50 So the cost to the district, whether they’re moving to K through
49:53 six or they’re moving to
49:55 the district as directors or anybody else, is never going to be
49:57 the same because if those
49:58 teachers want to continue to teach, they’re going to teach and
50:00 find a way to do it.
50:00 So there’s no consistent, there’s no extra cost in those areas
50:06 either.
50:07 The other issue that we had is that they said that if best and
50:11 brightest was going to cost,
50:13 it would cost an expansion of best and brightest.
50:15 And we know that that’s not true because best and brightest is a
50:17 set amount of money that’s
50:18 divided out among however many teachers.
50:20 So there was literally no extra cost that we could find.
50:24 The argument of making them certified teachers would expand and
50:27 hurt the private schools was
50:28 not, was not there.
50:30 So we started looking at it and here’s what was the aha moment
50:32 that was the most amazing
50:33 thing that I had last night.
50:35 Was the simple fact that our certified teachers in pre-K school
50:43 districts showed an increase
50:46 of kindergarten readiness for those school districts.
50:50 So our most needed population, which is our underserved and our
50:54 ESC populations, had higher
50:56 rates of gains in school districts that had certified teachers
51:00 as opposed to the ones who had not.
51:03 And not only did they have increase of career readiness through
51:06 our Flickers testing.
51:08 They also had decrease in ESE designations from K through six.
51:12 What does that mean?
51:14 That means that our targeted populations of ESE and our other
51:18 areas are being served before
51:20 they come to school.
51:21 They’re getting the services prior to, and we’re not spending
51:24 kindergarten classrooms that are
51:26 actually being taken over while they’re trying to apply to get
51:30 these people services for four,
51:32 six, eight months.
51:33 And we all know that.
51:34 So it was a huge aha moment in the fact that, look, okay, we can
51:38 make an argument that these
51:39 things are going to cause it, but then to see the statistical
51:42 data of our pre-K teachers
51:44 that they rock and that they actually are doing an amazing job,
51:47 which we know.
51:48 But the fact is, is that the more of a job that the pre-K
51:52 teachers do, our kindergarten, kindergarten
51:54 readiness, K through six is ready.
51:56 And I just, I sat there and I couldn’t believe it.
51:58 So anyways, we’ve sent the information up to the state, the
52:00 staffers, everybody else.
52:02 We’re moving back and forth.
52:03 I met with Ms. Mills today, who is the guru of all of pre-K and
52:07 preschool and intervention.
52:10 And I met with her and she said she’d sit down and work with us.
52:12 But I wanted to give you guys the news that there’s nothing that’s
52:16 been presented so far
52:17 that is a negative.
52:19 And we’ve actually been able to educate all of them on what was
52:24 possibly wrong.
52:26 And on top of that, we rock.
52:28 So I wanted to, I wanted to say that, I mean, this is good
52:31 people and anyways, so that was
52:33 a good thing.
52:34 And I wanted to say, especially Michelle Webb, Ms. Hardy,
52:37 Michelle Gaynor, Ms. Dunwoody,
52:39 those pre-K teachers, there’s literally 6,400 pre-K teachers
52:42 throughout the state of Florida
52:44 now that are working in the leadership committee members’
52:47 districts at schools that are now prepared,
52:50 once we finalize all of this, to push it up to their members so
52:54 that they can then understand
52:56 that their members will be getting a phone call, not from us
52:58 over in Brevard, but their
53:00 local pre-K classes inside their district.
53:02 And I’ve never seen literally an organization group of people
53:06 doing what they’re doing.
53:07 So a lot of credit go to our pre-K teachers.
53:10 And thank you to the union for working with those guys because
53:13 they, you know, they help
53:14 out when they needed some of the extra time off and stuff like
53:17 that.
53:17 So that was it.
53:18 So that was the first one.
53:19 Does anybody have any questions for our awesome pre-K teachers?
53:22 Is that officially their representative now?
53:26 Can I just say thank you to you, Mr. Susan, for the work that
53:28 you’ve been doing with those teachers?
53:30 I get like 10%.
53:31 Like they do all the work.
53:32 Well, I was going to say, yeah, just a little bit to you, mostly
53:34 to them, because I know
53:35 that they’re awesome and working hard every day for our kids.
53:37 That’s Michelle Webb, Ms. Hardy, Ms. Gaynor, and Ms. Dunwoody.
53:40 Just so you know.
53:41 Yeah.
53:42 Okay, sorry.
53:43 Awesome.
53:44 So thank you very much for your support of them and certainly to
53:47 everyone who is helping
53:48 that movement go.
53:49 I think we all understand the huge importance of early childhood
53:53 education and making sure
53:54 that we do it right.
53:55 So thank you.
53:56 Beautiful.
53:57 And then I said one more thing.
53:58 Yeah.
53:59 We have the SIAC Insurance Committee meeting coming up.
54:03 And me as the former representative, I met with Dr. Mullins, and
54:06 Dr. Mullins followed up
54:08 with a follow-up email and he said, hey, this is what we
54:10 discussed.
54:10 But I did want to put some things that the SIAC has been
54:13 concerned about on the agenda so
54:14 that we can discuss it later when it comes up.
54:17 One of them was we need education inside of our schools and how
54:21 that would happen if we were
54:22 going to do a plan design change, right?
54:23 And I don’t mean to steal your thunder in any way.
54:26 The other thing is we’ve had some extreme cost concerns inside
54:30 of our specialty drugs in
54:32 the pharmacy and some other areas.
54:34 So what is the solution, right?
54:35 Not let’s look at it, but what is the solution, right?
54:39 Also, how do we create a possible direct local group?
54:47 So grab the parish, the health first and say, what will you
54:50 offer to go direct as opposed
54:52 to going through the usual process or steering to less cost
54:56 alternative in a narrow network
54:58 plan?
54:59 And that was presented at the SIAC, which I watched that video,
55:02 which was awesome.
55:03 And then the other piece is that work with the county.
55:08 So about four months ago, I met with VSCO and Jerry said he
55:11 would definitely be willing
55:13 to work together on our plan as far as plan design.
55:17 So we just need to reach out to him.
55:19 And then the other piece would be to prioritize our costs with
55:24 the insurance companies and everything
55:27 else before we talk about raising the rates to the teachers.
55:30 And I think we all agree on that.
55:31 So I just wanted to say that was the piece before we get to the
55:34 meeting and I wanted to
55:35 just give you the heads up.
55:36 That’s all.
55:37 Okay.
55:38 Thank you, Mr. Susan.
55:39 Ironically, one of our SIAC members was in Tallahassee on, it
55:44 was Tuesday, right?
55:45 Yeah.
55:46 On Brevard Day.
55:47 They were up there working on that PBM bill advocating, which
55:51 ended up not being heard
55:52 in committee.
55:53 So they were a little frustrated.
55:54 But they were up there.
55:55 Actually, I think they were there Tuesday and Wednesday.
55:56 So lots of good advocacy going on there.
55:58 Okay.
55:59 Any other.
56:00 Which is being sponsored by Senator Wright.
56:01 Yes.
56:02 I remember when he said that when we were in there.
56:03 Yes.
56:04 Any other board members have anything further to report?
56:09 Dr. Mullins, do you have anything else you wish to add to the
56:13 meeting?
56:13 All right.
56:14 There being no further business, this meeting is now adjourned.
56:17 Thank you all for joining us.